Why It’s an Honor for Kratos to Appear in Mortal Kombat

+ Posted by Stig Asmussen on Mar 15, 2011 // Game Director, God of War III

Hey everyone! I just wanted to give a shout out to Ed Boon and Netherrealm Studios for getting close to wrapping up Mortal Kombat! From what I have seen and played, I think everyone is going to be really happy once they get their hands on it.

Mortal Kombat had a HUGE influence on me growing up. I remember the first time I saw it in the arcade – I almost crapped myself! I was like, “Look what they did to that guy! I’m out of quarters! When well I be able to play this at home?” Then I learned about Mortal Monday, the official launch day when the arcade game came out on the SNES and Genesis. I was a poor college kid at the time, but I circled the date for two reasons: I couldn’t afford it, so I needed to reserve it a month in advance at the video store; and September 13 1993 was my 21st birthday! So instead of going to the bar on my 21st, I ended up sitting with my friends playing MK all night long.

Sometimes, life has a strange way of working out. Here I am, 17 years later, having been able to work on the incredible God of War series … and then one day we get approached to include Kratos in the new Mortal Kombat! This was a complete no-brainer. I remember interviewing at PlayStation eight years ago and seeing Kratos in the very early stages of God of War 1 and thinking, “This guy looks like he was pulled straight from MK!” Which to me, was a good thing. One of the things that I always felt separated Mortal Kombat from other fighters was its character design. When you combine this with Kratos’ attitude and tendency for violence, it’s a match made in heaven!

Another thing that made this collaboration a good fit is that our studios have ties with one another. Several of us at Santa Monica used to work at Midway, including Adam Puhl (Lead Combat Design), Bruno Velazquez (Lead Animator), Chris Sutton (Lead Environment), as well as me, so we all knew Ed and had a relationship with members of his team. It was easy for all of us to get on the same page. It also made the decision on our end to work together because we trust them fully and we know that they will deliver on the promise to make this the most complete and authentic Mortal Kombat yet.

So for me personally, this is a really cool story. Mortal Kombat influenced me when I was younger in many ways, and it is still influencing me today. You can see this plainly by looking at God of War III. I was always encouraging the team to push the gore and violence in the kills, and a large part of that was the way MK struck me when I college kid. It’s one of those games that changed the industry, and is why I bet a lot of people have the “I remember MK because” stories. It is an honor to be involved with it.

first!? seriously? people still do that crap? lol @ mortal kombat being COD :D
i cant wait to see kratos’ fatality, hopefuly this game reinvigorate the franchise like what sf1v did to street fighter.
hopefully it respects the first three mk.

well i saw this video some month ago, i’m not really mortal kombat fan.

and there are too many ways to see characters in other games, some people can see this like a great feature and others may think is not the right place to do it.

i´d like to try the gameplay because the first mortal kombat i played was 14 years ago!

about kratos i love god of war and because it´s history i think there must be a good connection to integrate him in mortal kombat, and he should really looks great or even better in this game in order to appreciate and not think “ohh what a $%&”

I wonder what well be his moves and finish moves as well. I seen some of the game play and i have played the demo. I like how it feels and looks, hope some stages and moving background well be added to the games engine.

The Netherrealm team did a great job making sure that the MK version of Kratos had a ton of great moves and fatalities that felt very true to God of War. It was easy to see that both development teams had spent time playing each others games and everything really came together well.

smooth…hell no, this game feels so old school it’s great. mk4 was decent but the best mk was trilogy…this brings that feel back. loving the ps plus demo. cant wait for all of psn to enjoy it. wish it had online but it’s still fun as hell. I keep going through the ladder on expert timing myself and trying to beat my previous times. So far I’ve gotten to 3.59 on expert w 2 rounds and 6.54 on expert w 3 rounds. hope all enjoy :D

How is MK becoming COD, its been like forever since the last one was out. I have no trouble having Kratos in my Mortal Kombat. It would be sweet if we could get Raiden from MGS Rising. Would be a natural fit.

I really think that all the game devs and producers/distributors needs to put their differences and contracts (impossible) aside and create a fighting game with every major video game character. See Kratos in MK is just tool cool not see that type of collaboration elsewhere.

@Stig Asmussen
Great story! It’s definitely gotta be something really wild to see a character you’ve worked with be put in a game such as Mortal Kombat.

Mortal Kombat has always been my favorite fighting game, and always will be. Kratos is definitely a perfect fit for the game, can’t wait to play as him! The demo was awesome but only got me more anxious to finally get my hands on the final copy.

It definitely put a smile on my face to see Kratos going head to head with the likes of Scorpion (and beating him!). His brutality wound up being a fantastic match for the over the top violence of the Mortal Kombat universe.

Hey Stig! And yes! I remember “Mortal Monday!” So awesome to know I am not the only one who remembers those great years of gaming. Anyhow.. The new MK looks awesome, and the demo was great! total remake and still the “wow” factor of the first MK. Can’t wait for the game, and Kratos is going to be awesome!

Ha. Don’t worry, you’re not alone!
This latest MK definitely feels like the spiritual successor to those early days of the franchise and I think people who fondly remember the original will be happy when they get their hands on it.

i have never really played any MK game before, but after playing the demo, I have to say i am REALLY impressed. the graphics looks great, the presentation is wicked, and most of all, its BLOODY FUN! I would have really enjoyed to try out Kratos, but hell, i bet he will be awesome nonetheless.

Game looks great cant wait to get my playstation back from service work at sony :( so i can download the demo this is my second PS3 what is up with the quality of sony these days my ps2 and ps1 still work but im on my 2nd ps3 sorry for ranting just not 100 percent happy with the quality of the ps3

And I want to give a shout out to you STIG! After getting my hopes up for a GOWIII epilogue that never happened don’t think you’re off the hook, you guys better deliver the next God of War PRONTO. And if not a sequel or prequel or reboot or whatever to God of War (I understand Kratos and his tale is pretty much done and tired already) , then you’d better come up with something fresh and equally great. That AMAZING AND UNSURPASSED ENGINE you guys created for GOWIII has got to be put to good use and I mean ALREADY!